He's been averaging 31 pts, 8 rebs and 7 assists a game in the playoffs. Don't you know what the word average means? Why the hell does he have to win it all? The NBA championship goes to the best TEAM. We're talking about Lebron the PLAYER. As Tmac said, it takes 5
Not that I do not partially agree with what you are trying to say; but, Tmac is not the best example you could use in here.
Who cares if they beat Boston? They were supposed to kill Boston. The series against Orlando is what matters.
ok, well, i promised that i would come back to discuss after the celtics beat the cavs, but game 5 is EXACTLY what i was reffering to. and really, i only got into this discussion, because of all the people that claimed this was the most ridiculous thread and called anyone who suggested it stupid. it isn't a ridiculous thread, and the argument has merit. mental toughness has nothing to do with stats, and scoring averages, it has to do with playing through pain, playin all facets of the game when your shot aint falling, and playing with the goal of a championship. the cavaliers have a great chance to snatch one in boston, and wrap em up in cleveland, but even if the celtics don't win, this HIGHLIGHTS the argument that lebron is mentally weak. he would rather look good than win, and cannot handle when his image is threatened. mentally strong players hustle and do whatever it takes to win, successful or not. his shot aint falling? ok, block shots, rack up assists, and rebound. down by 20? keep driving to the basket to collect fouls and keep hustling. that is what players with mental fortitude do. so go on, call me names, talk about how stupid i am, and about stats. i never said LBJ wasn't a really gifted athlete, i said he was mentally weak, and will not live up to the expectations until he grows up. he might. but he ain't got it so far.
I'm not going to call you stupid or anything, but most fans and media-types think way too much of their own abilities to psycho-analyze players they don't know. Its one thing to say that LeBron has room to grow in the maturity department. Sure. The same can be said about the vast majority of athletes his age. But some of the accusations in this thread go well beyond that.
Boston can't stop Lebron, Lebron stops himself. My take of the situation is he is leaning more to leaving Cleveland. If Cleveland was to win a championship it would be extremely hard to leave. How can you leave a team that won a championship? Have you heard of a star player that won a championship and leaves the next year? I also think he is faking his injury.
WOW...just WOW You must have missed game 5 at the Palace, game 7 in Boston or even Game 2 vs Orlando last year.
No, he just has a hole in his game, outside shooting. When teams force him to take those shots the whole game, he goes from a HOFer to a very good player. I'm sure that frustrates him to no end.
Its so hard being a proffesional athlete these days people jump on you at the first glimpse Lebron gets more recoginition in the 3 or 4 games he plays badly than in the 60 wins he contirbute in ..
yeah, especially if those 3 or 4 games are playoff elimination games. dude gets big money to be the man, and THAT is what makes him a target for criticism. and in his case, its all valid.
so, here it is. i am not going to act immature, and rant, but this is an argument that indeed has a valid point. i know, i know, yall gonna say his numbers were great. you will point to his triple double, but its the almost quadruple double that makes the argument. 27 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists, and NINE turnovers. you will say his team sucks. although i would definately argue that his team feeds off its star player, and i would not mind having that same team playing with yao, kobe, wade, or nash. i would also argue that the celtics have only one star player that isn't over the hill and lost a step, rondo. i have seen quite a few cavaliers games as well as alot of the playoffs. still doesn't sway me. if you can't see a difference in the way wade, kobe, nash, duncan etc play, in comparison to lebron, then you won't get my point. i think james is a PHENOMINAL player, just think he psyches himself out, and is not very mature. not really his fault i guess, he has been coddled since he picked a basketball.
Right- here's a list of leaders in the playoffs at turnovers per 48 minutes: PLAYER NAME, TEAM NAME GP MPG TO TOPG TOP48 AST/TO STL/TO 1 Steve Nash , PHX 10 34.0 44 4.4 6.2 2.04 .07 2 Dwyane Wade , MIA 5 42.0 26 5.2 5.9 1.31 .31 3 Dwight Howard , ORL 8 31.9 30 3.8 5.7 .50 .17 4 Stephen Jackson , CHA 4 39.0 17 4.2 5.2 .88 .29 5 Shaquille O'Neal , CLE 11 22.1 24 2.2 4.7 .62 .08 6 Michael Beasley , MIA 5 27.0 13 2.6 4.6 .23 .31 7 Kobe Bryant , LAL 10 38.5 37 3.7 4.6 1.32 .30 8 Jose Juan Barea , DAL 6 17.4 10 1.7 4.6 1.50 .20 9 Kevin Durant , OKC 6 38.5 22 3.7 4.6 .64 .14 10 Mario Chalmers , MIA 5 26.1 12 2.4 4.4 1.08 .25 11 LeBron James , CLE 11 41.8 42 3.8 4.4 2.00 .45 The turnover butterfingers king of the playoffs is Steve Nash. Does this indicate mental weakness on his part? Or simply a high usage rate. Yeah, I can see the difference. It's that he turns it over less often than everybody you mentioned save Duncan.
Lebron will never win a championship as the no. 1 option but he would be the best player available to take a half step back and become a sidekick of a true no. 1
thanks for the lecture. but i was pointing out the turnovers as an example of his lack of composure. nash makes mediocre players superstars. lebron makes mediocre players spectators. the example of those players i mentioned was in their workman-like determination, hustle, heart, and composure. i am surprised, mr fisher, i usually find your posting insightful and usually agree with what your insights are, but supporting lebron james as a mentally strong character was not something i would have figured from you. the dude ain't got it. he may develop it, but he is not a leader at this point in his career.
